In emergency situations, police, firefighters, and other first responders may need to forcibly enter a building or dwelling to gain access in order to save lives. One common method of forcible entry in forcibly opening a locked door. In general, emergency personnel and first responders typically rely on a number of different devices to force entry through a locked door into a dwelling or building. Prying tools, such as “Halligan” tools and crowbars are common tools used to breach doors and windows. A Halligan is a special tool commonly used by firefighters for prying, twisting, punching, or striking.
Other tools that are commonly used to forcible open locked doors are generally referred to as “hydraulic forcible entry tools”. These tools are generally designed to forcibly open locked doors that open inwardly (right or left handed inwardly swinging doors), as well as forcibly open other types of non-hinged doors such as elevator doors that can be spread apart. There are various commercially available hydraulic forcible entry tools. Currently, the most commonly used commercially available hydraulic forcible entry tools are known as the “HYDRA RAM” and the “RABBIT TOOL.” These hydraulic forcible entry tools are shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2.
In particular, FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a hydraulic forcible entry tool (10) that is sold under the name brand “HYDRA RAM.” The hydraulic forcible entry tool (10) comprises a first handle (12), a second handle (14), a hydraulic, housing (16), spreading jaws (18), and a movable piston (19). As further shown in FIG. 1B, the spreading jaws (18) include a fixed jaw member (18A) that is connected to the hydraulic, housing (16), and a movable jaw member (18B) that is connected to an end of the movable piston (19). FIG. 1A illustrates the hydraulic forcible entry tool (10) in a non-extended position wherein the piston (19) is retracted into the hydraulic housing (16) and wherein the fixed and movable jaws (18A) and (18B) are joined together forming a sharp blade tip (18C). FIG. 1B illustrates the hydraulic forcible entry tool (10) in an extended position wherein the piston is extended out from the hydraulic housing (16) and wherein the fixed and movable jaws (18A) and (18B) are separated.
In operation, starting from the non-extended position shown in FIG. 1A, the hydraulic forcible entry tool (10) would be positioned at some point of the door where a door lock (e.g., dead bolt, door handle, etc.) exists, with the sharp edge (18C) of the jaws (18) forcibly inserted between the door and a door stop. In this position, the bottom of the hydraulic housing (16) would rest against the door stop/frame (parallel with the door frame) and the outer surface of the movable jaw (18B) would be pushed up flat against the surface of the door.
The individual using the tool (10), holding both handles (14) and (12), would start pumping the movable handle (12) back and forth to operate a hydraulic pump within the housing (16), causing the piston (19) to extend out from the housing (16). With the fixed jaw (18A) pressing against the inner surface of the door stop and the movable jaw (18B) pressing against the door, the door is forcibly pushed open as the piston (19) extends further out until the door is forcibly pushed open by, e.g., breaking the lock. A hydraulic forcible entry tool (10) as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B sold under the name brand of “HYDRA RAM” provides a jaw spread of 4 to 6 inches (extension of piston (19)) with a rated maximum spreading force of 10,000 psi.
Moreover, FIG. 2 illustrates another type of hydraulic forcible entry tool (20) that is known as the “RABBIT TOOL.” FIG. 2 shows the hydraulic forcible entry tool (20) in operation, forcibly opening an inwardly swinging door (200). The hydraulic forcible entry tool (20) comprises a handle/hydraulic housing unit (22), a high-pressure hose (26) connected to a pump not shown), spreading jaws (28), a slidable bracket/guide (24) and a movable piston (29). The spreading jaws (28) include a fixed jaw member (28A) that is connected to the housing (22) and a movable jaw member (28B) that is connected to an end of the movable piston (29).
The operation of the hydraulic forcible entry tool (20) is similar to that discussed above for the hydraulic forcible entry tool (10) of FIGS. 1A and 1B. More specifically, in operation, starting from the non-extended position, the hydraulic forcible entity tool (20) would be pushed against the door (200) and a door frame (202) at some point of the door (200) where a door lock (e.g., dead bolt, door handle, etc.) exists, with the sharp edge of the jaws (28) forcibly inserted between the door (200) and a door stop (204). The individual using the hydraulic forcible entry tool (20) would hold the tool (20) in position against the door (200) and door frame (202), and the pump apparatus (not shown) would be started to cause hydraulic fluid to be pumped through the hose (26) into the housing (22) causing the piston (29) to movably extend out from the housing (22). As shown in FIG. 2, with the fixed jaw (28A) pressing against the inner surface of the door stop (204) and the movable jaw (28B) pressing against the door (200), the door (200) is forcibly pushed away from the door stop (204) as the piston (29) is extended until the lock(s) is/are broken.
In order to ensure proper operation of a hydraulic forcible entry tool such as described above, it is important to inspect and maintain the tool on a frequent basis. The inspection and maintenance of hydraulic forcible entry tools on a routine basis (e.g., weekly) is vital to ensuring that the tools are battle ready and will not fail when they are used in an emergency situation. One way to properly inspect and maintain a hydraulic forcible entry tool is to frequently test the tool under a “load”. Testing a hydraulic forcible entry tool under a “load” serves various purposes.
For example, operating a hydraulic forcible entry tool under a “load” forces the oil to properly lubricate the internal hydraulic gaskets. Failures are common in hydraulic forcible entry tools that have sat around for long periods of time without use, causing the internal seals to dry out and crack, and therefore leading to possible failure. Some individuals attempt to test and maintain a hydraulic forcible entry tool by simply pumping the tool and extending the piston under no tension or load, and then retracting the piston. However, this operation does not adequately force the oil up into the internal gaskets to keep them lubricated and moist and prevent the internal gaskets/seals from cracking. When the internal seals in the hydraulic tool dry out, they tend to crack and become brittle over time, which weakens the seals and results in tool failure when used under a load.
Furthermore, operating a hydraulic forcible entry tool under a “load” ensures that the tool will actually work properly and not fail under load conditions. Indeed, even if the tool appears to work properly when the tool is operated without a load (i.e., the piston extends out when the tool is pumped), the tool can still result in a failure and not be able provide sufficient spreading force when used in an emergency condition under a load.
Currently, there are no known devices that provide controlled load conditions for testing and maintaining hydraulic forcible entry tools. To check a hydraulic forcible entry tool under “load” conditions, some individuals will place the jaws of the tool between the open jaws of a bench vise grip and then operate the hydraulic forcible entry tool until the jaws of the hydraulic forcible entry tool press against the jaws of the bench vise grip. Other individuals may operate the hydraulic forcible entry tool by lifting, objects such as dumpsters, soda machines, or other heavy objects. However, testing and maintain a hydraulic forcible entry tool using these raw techniques can be problematic for various reasons.
For example, operating hydraulic forcible entry tool in a vise grip or using the tool to lift heaving objects can over exert the tool, putting great stress on the tool and damaging the tool's inner seals in ways that can lead to subsequent premature failures. Moreover, these raw test methods do not allow an individual to determine with any reasonable degree of certainty the amount of pressure (psi) that the tool is actually providing at the time of testing. Indeed, even if the hydraulic forcible entry tool docs seem to function properly under a given load (e.g., vise grips or lifting an object), the individual testing the tool has no way of determining how much force the tool is providing under the given load. In this instance, even if a hydraulic forcible entry tool is capable of providing some spreading force under an unknown load, the tool may still be in a current state in which it is incapable of providing sufficient spreading force to operate the tool in its intended manner, such as forcibly opening a steel door with dead bolts.